The attribution of this motet has had several comings and goings. In its first publication in 1802 it was attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, but later it was considered a composition by his second uncle, Johann Christoph. Modern scholars, however, attribute it back to JSB based especially on the second part of the first movement. Its catalog number has recently been updated from “Anh. 159” (the BWV appendix for apocryphal works) to BWV 1146.

The prevailing theory today positions it as an early JSB work, probably composed in Weimar in 1712 or 13 for a funeral. The motet as a musical form was already falling out of favor, although its use at funerals continued to be a tradition.

The text begins with a quote from Genesis 32:26, ​​which narrates Jacob’s fight with God who appears to him as a man. “I won’t let you go if you don’t bless me,” says Jacob. The librettist, by adding the second line, changes the context of the original quote. The second section of the motet is a stanza from a poem by Erasmus Alber (1500 – 1553) unrelated to the Genesis passage.

Musically, the first section is structured for double SATB choir in antiphonal form, without explicit instrumental accompaniment. For the second section, the choirs come together, with the sopranos singing the chorale melody over the other three voices who continue to enunciate the text of the first section in lively counterpoint.

Some versions of the motet include a third section, a four-voice Bach harmonization of the Lutheran hymn “Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz”, which may have been a later addition by Bach himself already in Leipzig. This chorale is also catalogued independently as BWV 421.